CLF Director Provides Testimony to Maryland Legislature on Pesticide-Use Reporting CLF Director Dr. Robert Lawrence submitted written testimony to the Maryland General Assembly on a bill to establish a pesticide and fertilizer usage reporting system that would help inform decision-makers about the health of residents and the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Delegate James Hubbard invited testimony from Lawrence in support of the bill, currently under consideration in the State House (House Bill 929). Lawrence said that such a reporting system—similar to systems already in place in California and New York—is a valuable tool for epidemiologic research, risk assessment and tracking of toxins that threaten public health and the environment. Such a program would also fulfill citizens’ right to know about pesticide use in their communities. Additionally, compliance with these programs have not been shown to be burdensome to the agriculture or pesticide industries in other states. “To understand the impacts of pesticide and fertilizer releases into the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, it is of paramount importance to have high quality data on usage,” Lawrence wrote. “Many pesticides of particular concern to public health, such as the organophosphates and carbamates, are primarily used outdoors for agriculture, lawn care and landscaping services, and golf courses. Many public health researchers are now able to measure levels of pesticide chemicals in people. However, without information regarding the sources of pesticide exposure, the policy implications of public health research may be limited. Having a centralized reporting system with all of the data regarding outdoor pesticide usage would enable public health researchers to link human exposures to outdoor releases, if such a link exists.” | 
